“Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 5% for the week and were a remarkable 33% higher than a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s index, which was seasonally adjusted, including for the Fourth of July holiday.”
I guess we can say this puts to rest any fears we had about an extended economic fallout in the lending and housing markets. As with a number of other industries, it seems to be that the business wasn’t being lost, but delayed. As states start to open themselves back up, consumers seem to have been waiting for the flood gates to open. What other industries can we look at that are essentially having the activity of two quarters in one?
I think a large reason for these mortgage applications is the decrease in loan rates. People have decided to make that home purchase now and even refinancing existing mortgages while the rates are coming in at 3% and even less.
I got my second refi within the past year because we got a rate of 2.99. I even saw some offers that were better than that. A closing on a refi or a new home usually is about 30 days from starting the process but they actually told us 45 days due to the high volume right now.
So yes, a great time to get a mortgage. Housing prices in the Denver market are continuing to rise gradually so anyone looking to buy around here or even the further our suburbs will just continue to see their values raise for quite some time.